The Wandering Swordsman
by Timur Otsutsuki
Summary: He was considered as the most powerful swordsman throughout the Elemental Nations and his actions during the Kiri civil war made him a legend, but after the war he just disappeared. Now he wishes to live a new life as wanderer and helping those in need. WARNING slightly OP Naruto if there are some people that don't like these kind of Naruto stories(M-Rated to be safe).
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first story ever written, so i do apologize if it** **'** **s childish or lacks a good description when it comes to fight scenes. Also this story is heavily inspired from stories like 'Ruroni Naruto' by densetsubattousai(kyokasuigetsutotsuka) and 'Naruto the Hitokiri Battousai' by Stoneman303 who are excellent authors.**

 **I hope you enjoy it.**

Chapter 1: The Wanderer

It was a sunny noon. The birds were chirping in the forest singing their own song while observing an individual. Other animals as well were observing this individual inside the forest not wanting to enter the road this individual walks.

The man was fairly tall with spiky fiery red hair that reached into the middle of his back tied in a ponytail with jaw-length bangs framing either side of the face and violet eyes. His face was angular and handsome though he had a distinct three scars on both of his cheek like whiskers.

He wears a long blue cloak-like jacket(A.N. similar to Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho) with long red scarf tied around his neck and tight black pants with boot-like sandals.

His posture was laid back as he is walking down the road towards Nami no Kuni. He had relaxed smile in his face while enjoying the wind on his face

'It's really peaceful here' thought young man while walking down the road. Suddenly he saw a river appearing near the road which reminded him of his past.

 _Flashback_

„ _Get back here you stinkin little brat!" shouted a large bald man who was chasing a kid while pushing people who got in his way aside._

' _Darn it this isn῾t how it should have gone' thought young boy while running away from the large man. This started after his pickpocket failure. He was successful in pickpocketing the man, but he was still noticed by the man and this why he is in this fiasco._

 _While running, he found himself outside the village and near the streaming river and stopped running. He wasn῾t sure what to do next._

„ _There you are brat. Do you have any idea what you put me trough with this theft of yours. Now give me my money" said a large man trying to calm down as much as possible even though he is angered which makes him intimidating._

 _Kid was slowly backing away,totally forgetting the river and suddenly he fell._

„ _AAAAAGGH" screamed the boy trying to swim while river took him._

„ _KIIIIID!" shouted man while jumping into the river in order to save the boy..._

 _Flashback End_

'How time passes by' thought the young man while staring at the river. It was one of the scariest days of his life but also one of the best days since he met a Shinji who was like a father figure to him.

But sounds of metal clinging stopped his musings as well as a sudden. He didn't know what it was in the beginning before he understood that it was the sound of either kunai or a sword

'More violence. Can῾t people see that violence only breads more violence. Even this peace among the nations is fragile as it is and this is like adding more fuel to a fire.'Thought a saddened young man whose eyes that were full of life suddenly became heavy.

Wanting to see what is happening before he would step in, the mysterious young man shunshined towards the sound of metal clinging.

 _-Few moments before the fight from different POV-_

A group of people were walking down the road. They were in a diamond formation surrounding an old man who wore ragged clothes, a towel and hat. He had a grey hair and long beard.

„How long until we arrive in your village" asked a relatively tall shinobi with a spiky grey hair, a mask and a headband that covered his one eye. He lazily walked at the front while reading a certain orange book

„Not long, we should be there for two to three hours at best" said the old man while drinking his sake."By the way, thank you for continuing to protect me even after i lied."

„You should be thanking my sweet little genins for being so merciful and very persuasive" said a an older shinobi.

„Don't worry about him Tazuna jiji, Kakashi nii... i mean sensei tends to act like that but he is a big softy inside" whispered a 12 year old genin with spikey yellow hair and azura blue eyes. He wore Blue tracksuit with mesh shirt and dark pants.

„Really, because he sounded serious"whispered back an old man now known as Tazuna who drank his sake while talking to a young genin."But still I am grateful for continuing this mission even after everything."

„Don't worry, we will..."but he suddenly stopped when he heard a sound in a bush and immediately threw a kunai towards the bush. Suddenly a white rabbit jumped out of the bush and started to runaway.

„Ryuu what are you doing, you could've heart that poor bunny" screamed a young girl with bright pink hair and large green eyes.

„Sorry about that Sakura, but i thought that someone was spying on us" said Ryuu as he sheepeshly looked at her while she was scolding him about his behavior.

While that was happening Kakashi remebered that it was a snow rabbit." What sort of rabbit was white in the was raised in doors to be used for Kawarimi "murmured Kakashi when suddenly he saw a large glintig mass coming towards them.

„GET DOWN" shouted Kakashi as he threw Sakura and Tazuna to the ground while remaining two boy threw themselves to the ground as well.

It stuck itself in a tree and shinobi jumped on top of it. He was a tall shirtless muscular man with pale skin, short spiky black hair, brown eyes, and small eyebrows. On his chest he had a belt for a sword.

„Well,well if it ain't Zabuza Momoichi- _Kirigakure no Kijin(the Demon of the Mist)._ What brings you to Wave?" asked Kakashi as he stood up and put his hand on a headband that hid one of his eyes.

„Kopī Ninja no Kakashi(Copy ninja Kakashi),well that explains why demon brothers failed. I have nothing against you or brats, just give me the old man and i will let you pass " said Zabuza, his voice showing no emotion.

„Sorry but no can do" said Kakashi as he uncoverd his left eye which was red color and had three moment he showed it one of his students was surprised. He has black eyes as well as black hair that is spiky on the back and has chin-length bangs that part down to frame both sides of his face.

„Aahh the famous sharingan of the Uchiha clan. People said that you copied over thousand techniques and that you're even better than most uchihas except for Shunshin no Shisui and Itachi Uchiha"said Zabuza

„Ryuu, Sasuke, Sakura protect the client. I'll deal with him, this man is on a whole different level than Demon brothers "said Kakashi as he prepaired of battle.

„We'll see kakashi kuku"chuckled Zabuzaas he prepared his own jutsu

Ryuu suddenly threw shuriken and said:" _Shuriken-Kage bunshin no jutsu_ " as twenty more suddenly appeard.

Zabuza easily deflected them and said:"Not bad, but you'll need more to defeat me. It's my turn- _Kirigakure no jutsu_ "and immediately the whole area was covered in the mist.

„Now then" echoed the voice as it brought shiver down the spine to all three genins."which of you will I kill first? "

„Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you guys"said Kakashi while eye smiling and relesing his own chakra to comfort them.

 _-POV 1-_

As young man ran he saw the mist suddenly covering the entire area.'This is kirigakure no jutsu,which means that Kiri shinobi is fighting here. Since Kiri is recovering, all shinobi should be there. The only two i could think of that are missing nin are Kisame Hoshikage and Zabuza Momoichi and seeing that Zabuza is master of silent killing, it's easy to deduce that This is Zabuza's doing.'

Immediately he hid behind the tree to observe and analyze before taking any action. He was able to see genin team with their jonin sensei who was Sharingan no Kakashi, protecting an old man and another person standing on a tree. Suddenly zabuza apeard in front of bridge builder but Kakashi stopped him who turned out to be mizu bunshin.

Another Zabuza attacked Kakashi but he also turned into mizu bunshin which surprised Zabuza and left him open for Kakashi to get behind him and put a kunai on his neck.

 _-POV 2-_

„You're sharingan is truly remarkable, you were able to copy my jutsu with a simple glance"Said Zabuza while he chuckled."But you're still nothing more than a copy-cat"

Zabuza turned into a puddle of water which shocked Kakashi. Suddenly Zabuza appeared in front of him and went to kick him, but Kakashi was able to block it . Unfortunately the strength of Zabuza's kick was far too strong which send him towards the river. When he landed he felt something heavy.'Something is wrong here...it's a trap'

Kakashi immediately span around where he saw Zabuza standing with a gleam in his eyes.

„You're mine now Kakashi- _Suirō no Jutsu_ " said Zabuza as he formed a water prison which trapped Kakashi inside an inescapable sphere of water."And now to take care of your lovely genins" as he formed a several mizu bunshins to take care of them.

Sasuke attacked one of them, but bunshin just kicked him away and then went to kill him but before Kubikiribōchō could cleave Sasuke, boy dissapeard in front of him.

He looked for him until he sensed him in front of other genins. Before he could do anything, he heard another voice which was a lot darker

„I think enough is enough"said a voice. Zabuza tried to sense him through mist but couldn't which shocked him since there was no shinobi that could hide from him in the mist except for one swordsman but it couldn't be him.

„Who are you, I see no reason for you to interfere unless you're backup for these shinobi" said Zabuza as he tried to sense him but with no avail. he was also surprised at how this person talked about himself.

„It doesn't matter who this lowly self is, but this fight is completely unecessary and are you sure that you're client will pay you " said a dark voice which shocked Zabuza.

„How can you be sure that I am doing this for money and not for enjoyment" asked bunshin while real Zabuza tried to calm himself.

„This lowly self knows all about you Zabuza, after all we battled before " said a dark voice. Suddenly an earthen debris rushed towards him which destroyed all bunshins and forced him to release Kakashi from water prison.

Zabuza was shocked by this. 'Whoever this man was he was good, but this jutsu he used was really familiar'. 'He also said that we fought before'

But before he could do anything, several senbons hit him in a neck and ending his life and his body was caught by a shinobi who wore a standard Kirigakure pinstriped outfit which stopped at his knees. Over this he wore a green haori with white trimmings, and around his waist a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped around his waist twice.

The masked hunter nin turned towards Kakashi and the genin team and said:"Thank you for helping me catch this man, I've searched for him for quite some time" and then vanished. Immediately the mist disappeared and a mysterious stranger who helped them also vanished.

'Whoever helped us seems to be on a whole different level than either me or Zabuza, and let's not forget the hunter nin who took Zabuza's body instead of taking his head of and burning the corpse right there and then' thought Kakashi as he hid his eye.

„Ok team it's time for us to continue towards Tazunas house" said Kakashi as he, his team and Tazuna continued to walk towards Tazunas home town

 _-In the Village-_

A young lady was walking down the street,trying to buy some ingredients for her dinner. She has a long dark blue-coloured hair. She wears a short-sleeved pink shirt and a long blue skirt.

While walking she notices two thugs walking towards her. At first she walks slowly but her pace starts to increase until she started to run. She hides behind a wall of a one house and peeks around to see if she lost them but there was no one

Suddenly a hand touched her shoulder. She closed her eyes and then spun around with fist ready to attack. She knew she hit something when she heard a large THUD. When she opened her eyes she saw a tall handsome man with spiky red hair and a pony tail. He was wearing a blue kimono, loose pants and wooden sandals. He was laying on a floor with his eyes spinning and part of his face enlarged and saying "oro".

 _-Later-_

„I'm so sorry, I thought that you're one of Gato's thugs and i panicked" said a young lady while giving him some ice.

„It's alright, you were afraid and you didn't know whom to trust, am I right?"said a young man and then he smiled:" And you have a mean right hook so i doubt anyone would be a threat to you"

Immediately both of them burst out laughing and it took some time before calming down after which young man started to speak

„Sorry for being rude but may ask for your name?"

„It's Tsunami, and yours?"

„Himura Naruto" said Naruto as he reminded himself of the past.

 _-Flashback-_

 _A young boy opened his eyes. This first thing he saw was the light, before his eyes got used to. After that he saw that he was in a small to bed was a small wooden table which were several photos. On one of them was a kid and near him stood his parents, than on another there was a young teenager holding a fish on one hand and victory sign in another and in other photo was a young man hugging a girl and they looked that he saw a door and wooden locker near that door._

 _After looking around, he opened the door and went down stairs where he was greeted by the same man who was siitting and drinking his tea._

„ _Well, look who's up. How are you kid?" said man while drinking his tea and reading some orange book._

„ _Who are you?!" asked Naruto while trying to find a way to escape since he didn't trust anyone._

„ _Ah sorry, my name is Himura Shinji and you are in my house" introduced himself Shinji." Now, it would be nice if you could introduce yourself since I gave you my name."_

„ _It's Naruto"_

„ _Just Naruto? Your parents must've read The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi which is also my favourite book" said Shinji while showing him his book._

„ _Yeah, I don't have any parents, or they abandoned me" said Naruto as he lowered his head. Shinji was saddened by this and then he decided to adopt him._

„ _I know we started on a wrong foot, but how about we get to know each other. I myself feel alone in this house" said Shinji while smiling._

 _Naruto was surprised by this kindness that is shown to him. He started smiling alongside Shinji knowing he won't be alone anymore_

 _-Flashback End-_

„Well Naruto-san, what are you doing here seeing that you're not from around?" asked Tsunami since she never saw him in this village and doesn't seem to know what's happening.

„Well I'm just a simple wanderer from Kiri wanting to see the world"said Naruto as he took the cup of tea that Tsunami made."It seems things here aren't as i imagined" said Naruto as he sensed that someone is looking at them and he sensed team with old man in the village coming towards this house.

„Yes, things have gone sour ever since Gato came here, he broke people's will and started monopolising the shipping industry"said Tsubaki as she drank her own tea.

„How was he able to break spirit of people in the village?" asked Naruto wanting to inquire more information but was surprised after seeing her mood drop. That moment he understood that he hit a bad subject

„Sorry,This lowly self shouldn't have asked that"slipped Naruto but luckely she ignored it.

„No, it's ok, it's just..." but before she could speak, she heard someone running upstairs and sighed sadly

„Who was that?"

„That was my son Inari, he must've heard us talking"she said and started to fill the cups with more tea

Suddenly they heard someone opening the doors and they saw Tazuna smiling towards the young lady with genin team and their sensei behind them.

„Tsunami-chan, I am home" said an energetic voice of a bridge builder. The moment he saw a young handsome man in their house, he was quite surprised." May I ask who this young man is and why is he in our house?"

„Tou san!" jumped Tsunami and hugged her father after which she introduced Naruto and explained how they met. Tazuna told his own story and introduced Kakashi (who was shocked when he heard Naruto's name but didn't show it) and his genin to them with naruto being shocked/intrigued (also not showing) with blonde kid who had a same whisker marks like himself when seeing him up close. Afterwards both Tsunami and Naruto made dinner together that evening and called others that dinner is ready.

After enjoying their meal, Kakashi decided to start some conversation and he decided to start with a so called wanderer.

„So tell us Naruto-san,when did you decide to travel and what places did you visit?" asked Kakashi while looking lazily at the wanderer.

„Well i started travelling a few months ago since Kiri didn't allow anyone to leave even after civil war since country need everyone to help in rebuilding it. First I travelled to Tetsu no Kuni(Land of Iron) but I wasn't there for long. After that i left to Kaminari no Kuni(Land of Lightning) where i visited many places, including Kumogakure which we all now is a hard place to enter but i remember being some celebration. Then I went to Ta no Kuni(Land of Rice) and later decided to visit this place and here we are. " explained Naruto.

„It seems you've had a quite an adventure" said Kakashi.

„Ano Naruto-san,how did the war end?"asked Sakura since she learned all about Bloody mist during history classes but they didn't learn how it ended(A.N. yeah, this is just an excuse to start this conversation). Naruto didn't want to speak about it but Kakashi came to save the day.

„One man ended the war in a final decisive battle" said Kakashi as he shocked people around him except for Naruto.

„O-o-one man" stuttered Tazuna

„As you know Zabuza was a member of the Seven Legendary Swordsmen of the Mist who worked under Mizukage. But what you didn't know is that rebellion had its own swordmaster who was also their leader and who one time defeated all seven swordsmen at once " said Kakashi, once again surprising everyone.

„What was his name" asked Sasuke, speaking for the very first time. Kakashi was about say but Naruto interrupted.

„Nobody knows his name except the moniker that he has been given for all the manslaughter he committed" said Naruto bitterly while all genins waited for him to tell them

„The Hitokiri Battousai"

- _END-_

 **A.N. And that was the first chapter. I will write this story until i finish it but I won** **'t promise fast updates because of the school** **. I admit that i have problems when it comes to putting comma which is quite embarrassing and many other problems that i should deal with. While this story is inspired by authors that I previously mentioned,it won't be completely identical and i won** **'t use other authors texts and I** **think I proved it with this chapter. When it comes to Naruto as a character, he won't be 100% Kenshin-like(though he will call himself as-"this lowly self" when he is in warrior persona or when people find out about him) since he will have his prankster side from his mother, he will sometimes make pranks with his two younger siblings and he will irritate people who are arrogant which will be like a comical contradiction about him being lowly, but he won't be full of himself like Naruto originally knows to be sometimes. He will be quite humble and if people would ask him about his skills, he would say that he is average at best and he would let others take the credit(except if they are corrupt).**

 **That is all and I hope you liked the first chapter**

 **Bye bye (with Abe's voice from Oddworld)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello there guys! Here is another chapter of my story.**

 **Hope you enjoy it.**

Chapter 2: The Hitokiri Battousai

„The Hitokiri Battousai?!" said awestruck Ryuu. While he did not hear of him since wasn't interested in history and tended to sleep during those classes but this guy sounded awesome.

„Yes, he was the leader of the rebellion, now a true Kiri shinobi force. " said Kakashi. "His name itself strikes fear in the hearts of this genertaion of shinobi troughout Elemental Nations."

„Why is that?" asked now intrigued Sasuke who always liked to hear more about powerful shinobi and their deeds. He heard stories of many of them from his brother who always studied history and learned more about them like their ancestor Madara Uchiha of whom he never heard of, Hanzo the Salamander, The Densetsu no Sannin, Shiroi no Kiba Sakumo who was father of their sensei etc...

„It's because of his infamous sword style that allows him to fight an entire army at once. Many times he massacared an entire battalion of Kiri loyalists without using any jutsu, just pure speed and sword play, though recently it's said that he's a powerful fūinjutsu user as well which he had shown during his fight against Yondaime Mizukage Yagura of whom he also defeted."

Now that shocked everyone.' Well, that isn't entirely true since this lowly self had a help from Mei and this lowly self somehow used some kind of chains which this lowly self can't figure out.'

„His sword style?" asked now Tazuna who got interested in this shinobi. But before answering, Kakashi looked at Naruto and asked:"You seem to be pretty informitive seeing that you knew about his moniker and I would like to know how?"

„In order to survive the war, many of us civilians had to do everything to survive and that includes reading Bingo book so that we would know what kind of shinobi will approach us and whether we will ask them for aid or hide from them" said Naruto. That was the truth since many people did that. Shinji himself used a Bingo book that he got from a fellow fisherman during the early days of Civil war.

„A Bingo book, what's that?!" interrupted Ryuu.

„It's a book in which all infamous shinobi are mentioned, their description as well as their backround, skills, and threat level" said Kakashi."But enough of that, we were talking about sword style of The Hitokiri Battousai"

„Tell us about his sword style?!" demanded ancious Sasuke. Naruto immediately recognized the look that Sasuke had. While Ryuu was also interested he didn't have the same look as Sasuke-the power hungry look.

„The name of his sword style is hiten mitsuturugi ryuu. It is used for fighting many enemies at the same time. The mastery of such sword style allows a person to fight an entire battalion enemies and come on top or at least that's what they say, am I right so far Naruto-san? "said Kakashi while lazily observing red haired wanderer. He seemed normal and his explanation about his knowledge was reasonable, but you can never be certain.

„Well that's what I read as well" shrugged Naruto while looking back at kakashi. He saw that Kakashi was analyzing him and trying to see if he was a shinobi or not.

„What happened to him?" asked Sakura who was afraid of hearing about such a shinobi.

„After ending the war, he mysteriously vanished while leaving behind his sword-The Zantetsuken(iron-cutting sword)(from Lupin III), which is said that was forged from a meteorite and that can cut anything" said Kakashi." But recently there has been a rumor about a wandering swordsman who travels troughout Elemental Nations and helping people and some people think it's him. "

„Does Bingo book say how he looks like?" asked very excited Ryuu, after hearing many things about him, he really wanted to know how he looks like in case he ever meets him so he could ask for a good fight or maybe to train him.

„I know what you are thinking and I am telling you not to follow him. His ruthlesness is said to be unparalleled that his second moniker of his is the Shinigami" said Kakashi, but seeing how Ryuu didn't waver, he sighed.

„Why do you wish to meet such a person?" asked Naruto Ryuu. He became intrigued with his guts and was reminded of himself." He is pretty much feared by everyone. "

„Because he is powerful, if stories about him are true and i wish to surpass him so I could achieve my dream. " said Ryuu, his eyes burning with pashion and his spirit is unwavering

„And that is?" asked Naruto while observing Ryuu. The more he listened him, the more was he reminded of himself when he was his age.

„To become the strongest shinobi in a world so i could protect everyone i hold close" exclaimed Ryuu while leaving Naruto shocked. Those words reminded him of his own words.

- _Flashback-_

 _Naruto and Shinji were eating together in their kitchen. Shinji was looking at Naruto who was thinking about something while eating which made him look cute._

„ _You know, if you continue thinking like that, your food is gonna end up cold." Said an amused Shinji though worried. They were living together for a year now and he saw that Naruto was happy child even if he was fighting to survive in the streets. But he never lost his smile._

„ _I'm afraid" muttered Naruto trying not to be heard, but Shinji heard him._

„ _You're afraid of what Naruto?" asked Shinji softly. Naruto was always brave and never shown fear even in the incident when he was once lost in the mist. It was hard to find him but Naruto was able to find a way out of the mist and wasn't even scared, so hearing him that he was afraid means that something really scared him._

„ _I don't want to lose you. I was afraid that a Kiri loyalist would kill you for not giving him a fish that you caught." Said Naruto_

' _So that's what scares him, he doesn't want to be alone' thought Shinji while looking at saddened Naruto. But before he could say anything, he saw Naruto's face change into determined one._

„ _That's why I will train. I will train and become the most powerful Shinobi ever. And then no one will dare to touch my precious people. I won't allow anyone to hurt you or anyone else for that matter" said Naruto._

 _These words shocked Shinji. Never before had he seen so much determination in a person. This little boy was willing to do anything to protect him because he thinks of him as a precious person._

' _Maybe he is the one who will complete it ' thought Shinji._

 _Naruto didn't know what happened but he was engulfed into a big warm hug by Shinji who had tears in his eyes._

„ _Thank you Naruto. You're like a son that i never had" said Shinji. These words struck Naruto and made him cry the tears of joy. Both of them didn't want to seperate from one another, so they stayed that way for quite some time._

 _When they seperated, Shinji became serious and said:"If you want, I'll help you in your quest to become the most powerful shinobi."_

 _These words surprised Naruto but seeeing Shinji serious means that he could help him and that there was more to him than meets the eye._

 _-Flashback end-_

Naruto smiled at Ryuu. It seems they had a lot more in common than just whiskers.

„I'm not sure what it means to be a shinobi but i do belive when a person has something precious, that's when he becomes truly strong."said Naruto, smiling at a promising little shinobi. Ryuu himself smiled, he started to like this traveler.

„Thanks, but still what does he look like"

„Nobody knows since he never left anyone alive for shinobi to describe him" said Naruto, but Kakashi decided to enter.

„But there was one who before he died said that he had three scars on both his cheeks like whiskers. Just like you Ryuu" which shocked people. Kakashi than thought:'And it's because of that information, did Minato sensei send Jiraya sama to find him, because he could be your long lost brother, Ryuu.'

When that happened, Kakashi was confused and Minato told him the truth. To say he was shocked was an understatemant. Meeting this Naruto brings him hope but he doesn't have whiskers(A.N. yeah I admit it's a bit conveniant that he used genjutsu just when he needed but I hope you accept my apology and roll with it)

Naruto didn't know about his whisker marks being recognized and was happy that he hid it trough a genjutsu.

„Well I'm off to find a place to stay" said Naruto, but before he could leave Tsunami stood up

„Now, now there is no need to. This house is large enough for all of you to stay" said Tsunami with a small smile.

„Are you sure? Because I wouldn't want to intrude " said Naruto but Tsunami immediately said:"It wouldn't be ok to leave an innocent bystander in need and I still owe you an apology."

„Thank you" team 7/Naruto said at the same time.

- _Line break_ -

Naruto was standing in his room, thinking what to do. He won't abandon these people since he had sworn to protect those that are in need but Konoha shinobi team complicated things. He also needed to find Zabuza and make peaceful resolution with him.

But before he could continue to ponder, he heard someone crying. He opened a door and heard someone crying in a room next to him. Door was a little open and there he saw Inari crying and holding a family picture.

-Tomorrow morning-

In a kitchen room, we can see Naruto cooking, and that's because he felt obliged to do after being given a place to stay. He decided to cook simple rice with omlet(took that from PERSONA 4) because it was simple but delicious meal with proteins.

„Naruto-san! What are you doing here cooking?" asked Ryuu who was standing behind him. After waking up early in the morning so he could train, he saw Kakashi and rest of his teammates resting so he decided to explore house and maybe go outside. But the smell of something deliciosus cooking led him to the kitchen.

„Well, I decided to cook as a sign of apretiation for allowing thi-me to stay in this lovely house " said Naruto while kindly smiling at Ryuu.

„really, what are you cooking?" asked intrigued Ryuu.

„Just an omlet with rice. Simple but delicious dish, full of proteins." said Naruto while putting food in each and every dish.

„Wow, I'm sure it's deliciosus but not as deliciosus as Ramen" stated Ryuu. That proclamation surprised Naruto since it was his favourite food.

„After all, Ramen is a ..."

„FOOD OF THE GODS" both Naruto and Ryuu said at the same time. They were shocked that they had the same thought about Ramen. But they immediatly started laughing together.

„Man, I thought that only my mom, my youngest sister and myself loved Ramen like that, but it's great to know that there are others as well. I wouldn't be surprised if you were my long lost brother"said Ryuu.

„I agree" said a mysterious voice. Ryuu was shocked but Naruto wasn't even though he acted. When they both turned around they saw Kakashi standing there, reading his little book.

 _-Line break-_

After breakfast, Naruto decided to walk around a small village, after which he decided to go to the forest.

There he saw person walking around with a basket. Naruto was able to deduce that this person was a male with an androgynous appearance. He wore his long hair loosely, and wore a pink, sleeveless kimono, with pale red edges and decorated with small plum-coloured swirls, that went to his ankles. Around his waist was a simple white obi tied in a bow, and he wore a pair of light brown sandals with dark straps. He also wore a dark-coloured choker around his neck.

„Hello there" said Naruto, trying to be friendly and not hostile. Man turned around, looking surprised but Naruto could see weariness in his eyes. His body,while in the eyes of a civilian looked normal, was prepared for an attack.

'Seems he's the hunter nin that saved Zabuza ' thought Naruto while outside looking pleasently at young man.

„Ah! you've surprised me " said a young man.

„My apologize but i couldn't help but to ask you what're you doing here? "

„Well I am looking for herbs that could help my friend who is very hurt" said young man.

„Well that's nice, if you want I could help you. By the way what's your name miss? My name is Himura Naruto" said Naruto acting naively though he started to get doubts with his deduction.

„I'm Haku, and no I found all I need" said Haku pleasently. He was nervous around this guy but it seems this person is just a normal civilian.

But so was he in the eyes of many.

„Ah, in that case farewell and I hope your friend gets better" said Naruto and started leaving

„Farewell, but I am a boy" and with this Haku went to other direction leaving stupefied Naruto(who is acting though relived that his deduction skills didn't get rusty).

- _Line break_ -

Haku finally returned to the hideout while being careful of not being followed. It is a small hut with only one room hidden in the thick growth of a forest in the Nami no Kuni. It only has one room with a bead and a rather interestingly shaped branch outside in the shape of a snake.

In bed laid Zabuza who woke up just recently.

„Where were you? Were you being followed?" asked Zabuza grumpily which brought smile to Haku. Hearing Zabuza grumpy means he is better and that he will soon be back on his feet.

„I was collecting herbs for your treatment and no I was not followed. Though hearing you like this means you are getting better and..." but before she could say anything else, she felt another presence inside the hut and immediately went into battle stance.

„I thought you weren't followed Haku" grunted Zabuza

„Don't be so hard on him Zabuza, even you couldn't feel This lowly self's presence back in Kiri " said a voice and both Zabuza and Haku a person whose face they couldn't see but saw him wearing a dark blue coat with a red scarf,black pants and bootlike sandals.

When he approached them his face was shown and both of them were shocked. Haku because it was a civilian from before while Zabuza because it was a legendery Battousai who once spared his life in turn of never reveling his appearance to anyone.

„It's been a very long time Zabuza-san"

„3 years in fact" said Zabuza."Though you have grown quite well... Hitokiri Battousai "

This shocked Haku down to the core.'This...this person is the one who fought Zabuza-sama and rest of the legendery swordsmen and single-handedly defeated them'.

Naruto smiled kindly at them and said:"This lowly self has abandond that name and lifestyle. Now This lowly self is just a simple wanderer helping out those in need. But it seems to me that you didn't get the news which is surprising."

Zabusa's eyebrows raised a bit. He was shocked that he abandoned Kiri but maybe the news would clarify things."And what news might that be?"

„The war has ended. Yagura's reign of terror has finally come to an end" said Naruto.

More and more surprises came to Zabuza and Haku. Finally the war was over and they were quite happy, especially Haku.

„I guess you had something to do with it" sarcastically said Zabuza

„This lowly self did it with the help of his comrades and Mei supported This lowly self in a fight against Yagura." Said Naruto while Zabuza got irritated with this lowly self talk

„Ok will you please shut up with This lowly self crap, it's quite irritating" and Naruto smiled at him, but a weak smile. Zabuza immediately caught the meaning so he relented.

„Why did you come here..."

„Naruto"

„Yes, why did you come here Naruto if you aren't going to kill me? " asked Zabuza

„This lowly self is here to peacefully negotiate with you and find a way to stop unnecessary violence" declared Naruto seriously.

Everything became quite after that declaration. Suddenly Zabuza barked out loud

„HAHAHAHA, I can't belive that you of all people would say that kind of nonsense. You must be joking right?" asked Zabuza thinking that he was joking but looking at his eyes he could see how serious he was.

„This lowly self is serious Zabuza. These people have gone trough too much pain and misery. This has to end and This lowly self knows that there is good in you and would like to ask you about Gato's base of operations"

Zabuza looked at him. He looked at the man who was once known for his ruthlesness, whose eyes were once red and demonic, like watching a devil himself or better yet a shinigami taking away your soul.

But here stood a man full of regret, trying to walk a path of redemption. But there is something else-optimisim, something he hadn't seen before. His eyes weren't cold and bloodthirsty as they once were, but full of hope.

' _He has changed. Maybe...maybe I could do that as well... no who am I kidding. But... but Haku could. Unlike me he did not kill anyone and never took enjoyment in this and always wanted to help those in need. Haku should follow someone like him._ '

„Listen Naruto,this isn't personal but a buisness and I was promised to get paid" said Zabuza. Naruto wanted to react but there was something different in Zabuza, especially the way he talked. It wasn't sarcastic or insulting, but calm and neutral. Zabuza than continued.

„But there is still a possibility that he won't pay me and also try to find a way to get me killed. So if you could uncover wether or not he will pay me or just trow me away after I'm no longer in need. If he wishes to kill me, than the contract will be broken... oh and the base is south from here, not too far."said Zabuza.

When Naruto heard this, he was shocked, Haku as well since she never thought Zabuza would do such a noble thing though he did do it a few times when Zabuza thought he wasn't looking but not on this scale.

Naruto smiled after shock and said:"Thank you Zabuza. Your sensei was right about you. There is still kindness in our heart." After which Naruto dissapeard, leaving shocked Haku and Zabuza who was smiling a little.

 _-End-_

 **A.N. Damn! I can't belive it took me this long to write this chapter. I wrote half of this chapter back in september but school, where all of our professors went Rambo on us, plus computer crashing that I had during this month and dilemma over Gato stopped me on my tracks. Originally I wanted to be this a large chapter like yugixtian knows to make and end wawe arc here but I couldn't do it.**

 **Still I do apologize for taking so damn long and i do hope you guys who follow me forgive me.**

 **16 follows and 5 of you favored my story. When I saw this I was happy and while it is nothing compare to others, it's large number for me and I'm so grateful for it. I thank you all for this. Knowing there are people reading this story that is written by a newbie like myself is incredible and I am so happy. Once again THANK YOU .**

 **Bye bye**


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